Is it the lower specs that make this phone so smooth?

I was just thinking I have a note 2, an iphone 5, 4s and an HTC One in the house belonging to my wife and kids. I use these every now and then when my X is charging or whatever and when I come back to the X, I'm so amazed how fluid the phone performs comparatively . I'm mostly noticing the scrolling compared to other Android devices but it is also surprising to see it also keep up with iPhone. So I know the phone is Hella optimized but why dont other makers make their phones more like we'll.. Iphone? .. as much as I hate to say. The experience is soo much more enjoyable. Is it the flashing higher specs and marketing fooling everyone?? What's the point in high specs if it performs like a turd? This phone has taught me a lot!

.. That make this phone so darn smooth?? I was just thinking I have a note 2, an iphone 5, 4s and an HTC One in the house belonging to my wife and kids. I use these every now and then when my X is charging or whatever and when I come back to the X, I'm so amazed how fluid the phone performs comparatively . I'm mostly noticing the scrolling compared to other Android devices but it is also surprising to see it also keep up with iPhone. So I know the phone is Hella optimized but why dont other makers make their phones more like we'll.. Iphone? .. as much as I hate to say. The experience is soo much more enjoyable. Is it the flashing higher specs and marketing fooling everyone?? What's the point in high specs if it performs like a turd? This phone has taught me a lot!

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+1 lot of people complain about lower spec but in fact the processor is an optimized Quad core chip. while other phones are quad core but the additional 2 cores never get used(except in hard core games).

for example the contextual processing core is used to handle things like the screen, sensors and touch elements( optimzed quad core)

here is why its smooth

1. Pure Android and less bloats unlike TouchWiz and LG's Skin
2. Moto X specific optimization. infact developers are using Moto X specific optimization for building ROMs for other devices
3. GPU is very powerful and it is optimized

I ran benchmarks of the Moto X at the store and even with all the stuff installed it outperform my Nexus 4 which is highly modified. So the Moto X is no slouch in term of performance. One reason that persuade me to get it.

I would say one of the big reasons is the lower resolution. While the other flagships are trying to push out 1080p, the moto x only has to do 720p which taxes the GPU less. The GPU is also the same found in the HTC One and Galaxy S4, and is more powerful than the one found in the Note 2. Plus the software is really optimized, my Moto X runs smoother than my Note 3, even though my Note has a more powerful processor and GPU.

+1 lot of people complain about lower spec but in fact the processor is an optimized Quad core chip. while other phones are quad core but the additional 2 cores never get used(except in hard core games).

Yes! Thank you! Plus, it's not surprising that in the time that Moto developed and produced their X8 system that the chip manufacturers released newer versions of their chips.

The Moto X is low spec'd? Aside from the screen resolution, I'd say anyone claiming it is low or midrange "spec'd" doesn't understand how specs work. And that's before the obvious fact that they have no clue how specs relate to performance. If the X8 can out perform just about every S600 (same chip, 2 more cores) and many S800s, it's clearly the more innovative processor.

The scrolling feels slow to me compared to iphone. Is there a way to speed it up?

Two options that you might try:
1) Go into Developer options and there are settings you can adjust for animation scale faster or slower.
Here's a link on how to enable Developer options on the Moto X if you haven't already: https://motorola-global-portal.custh...ug/action/auth
2) Install a 3rd party launcher. I have Nova Prime and it has adjustments for scrolling speeds in the settings.

Two options that you might try:
1) Go into Developer options and there are settings you can adjust for animation scale faster or slower.
Here's a link on how to enable Developer options on the Moto X if you haven't already: https://motorola-global-portal.custh...ug/action/auth
2) Install a 3rd party launcher. I have Nova Prime and it has adjustments for scrolling speeds in the settings.

**NOVA SPEED!!!!!!** lol.

Seriously though Nova has a ton of options, and I know there are other launchers but Nova is what I'm familiar with so I'll add to the post above.

If we were local and could meet face to face I'd possibly take you up on that. Unfortunately family and work require that I not be without a phone and the deal locally that I had for a 32 gig Moto X and $ for my Note 3 fell through so I'm going to be rocking the Note 3 until I can work something out.

It feels like Motorola used software optimization to provide a smooth experience rather than just throw the highest-end specs at the project.

I recognize this is a fairly common sentiment. Motorola's efforts to favor 'the experience over the specs' at the risk of oversimplifying the issue were successful not only due to the hardware-critical features they built, but the software optimizations as well. The Moto X includes an optimized version of Dalvik authored by Qualcomm (which is also available for the Nexus devices by the way).

Here's my question, though: for those who perceive the Moto X's performance to be superior to that of other recent flagships, how does the introduction of ART on either side change the comparison?

Here's my question, though: for those who perceive the Moto X's performance to be superior to that of other recent flagships, how does the introduction of ART on either side change the comparison?

That's a big hangup for me, because I've switched between them several times now and I'm honestly not sure I can tell the difference on any given day without looking or trying to remember which button I hit last. If I wake up, do a couple of things on 230 apps... I have no idea without seriously considering what I've done to it.

That's a big hangup for me, because I've switched between them several times now and I'm honestly not sure I can tell the difference on any given day without looking or trying to remember which button I hit last. If I wake up, do a couple of things on 230 apps... I have no idea without seriously considering what I've done to it.

We aren't far off from the point where improvements in software efficiency, though potentially very impressive, are beyond the scope of perceptible performance gains for daily use (speaking in context of responsiveness, compiling and loading delays, smoothness... all that).

Here's my answer to the ART question. It makes apps open instantaneously and the phone is so fluid...I never see framerate drops with ART enabled. It alone has coaxed me away from Xposed with mods because of how smooth it is.

We aren't far off from the point where improvements in software efficiency, though potentially very impressive, are beyond the scope of perceptible performance gains for daily use (speaking in context of responsiveness, compiling and loading delays, smoothness... all that).

I think this is where phones are heading. In day to day use, how much faster can they actually open in app, scroll through a page, switch to a different app, etc., to where we can actually notice and perceive the speed with our eyes? The same thing can be said with screen technology. When using a phone a couple feet away from your face, you won't perceive much difference between 720p and 4K. From a greater distance, as in viewing a TV, the differences are more noticeable. Sure companies will be able to say "our phone has a 4K screen!!!!" But how much will you actually notice in day to day use? I'm guessing it will be minimal at best.